Graphically Organize a Biography

By Ellen Benton

This lesson is a good ending to a unit on biographies. The students will work together in small groups to create a poster that displays the information from a biography in a graphic organizer.

Learning outcomes

Students will

  • read and take notes from a biography.
  • write a paragraph from notes.
  • create a graphic organizer to display paragraphs.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

3 Hours

Materials/resources

  • short biographies, focus on civic leaders
  • poster board
  • markers
  • glue
  • construction paper
  • scissors

Technology resources

None

Pre-activities

Students need some knowledge of biographies. They should be able to take notes from reading and write a paragraph from notes. Students should be familiar with graphic organizers.

Activities

  1. Assign students to groups of 4.
  2. Students choose one of 4 topics related to a famous person about which to take notes:
    • childhood
    • adulthood
    • accomplishments
    • character traits
  3. Provide students with a short biography. Try to choose biographies of people that your students may not be familiar with, such as Mother Teresa, George Washington Carver, or Sandra Day O’Connor.
  4. The group reads the biography aloud to each other in round-robin fashion. Each student takes notes from the biography for his/her topic.
  5. After completing the biography, students write a paragraph from their notes about their topic.
  6. The group chooses a symbol that is appropriate for the person about which they read; for example, an apple for Johnny Appleseed or a light bulb for Thomas Edison.
  7. Provide each group with a poster board, construction paper, markers, and scissors.
  8. Students cut out 4 large symbols for their poster. They mount their paragraphs on the symbols labeling each Childhood, Adulthood, Accomplishments, and Character Traits.
  9. The group writes the researched person’s name in the center of the poster and glues the symbols on the poster.
  10. Students present their group projects to the class.

Assessment

The projects may be graded using a rubric. (attached)

Supplemental information

Attachments:

Related websites

N/A

Comments

None

North Carolina Curriculum Alignment

Information Skills (2000)

Grade 3

  • Goal 4: The learner will EXPLORE and USE research processes to meet information needs.
    • Objective 4.07: Organize and use information.
    • Objective 4.09: Present information in a variety of formats (print, graphical, audio, video, multimedia).

Guidance (2001)

Grades K–5

  • Goal 6: Understand the relationship between personal qualities, education, and training, and the world of work.

Social Studies (2003)

Grade 3

  • Goal 1: The learner will characterize qualities of good citizenship by identifying people who made a difference in the community and other social environments.
    • Objective 1.02: Recognize diverse local, state, and national leaders, past and present, who demonstrate responsible citizenship.
    • Objective 1.06: Identify selected personalities associated with major holidays and cultural celebrations.
  • Goal 7: The learner will analyze the role of real and fictional heroes in shaping the culture of communities.